


Brothers

by sakura240



Series: Ζωή - Because Things Will Get Better [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, fluff?, small character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 09:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5286317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakura240/pseuds/sakura240
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred is separated from his twin brother and he couldn't be more upset.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz; Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan

Alfred sat across his older brother with a small pout on his lips. He was avoiding looking at Matthew’s eyes since he knew he couldn’t stand the disappointment in the others blue eyes, similar to his own but with hints of violet specks in the shade of ocean blue darker than his own.

His older twin brother was wrapping the others arm with a bandage and a few times, Alfred could feel Matthew’s gaze on him. The seven year old squirm where he sat on the twin bed he shared with his twin and continued to ignore Matthew’s look. Finally, Matthew tightened the bandage (a little too tightly, making Alfred wince in pain), grabbed the first aid kid, and stood up to put it away in the closet in the large room they shared with five other children in the child services home.

The two continued their silence when Matthew returned to his brother’s side before sitting down next to him, looking down at the ground.

“…Why can’t you stop?”

Alfred was pulled out of his thoughts and without meaning to, looked at Matthew Thankfully, his twin wasn’t looking at him and he didn’t have to look into his twin eyes and see the disappointment in those normally sweet and kind eyes. “…I…” He started before he looked away, his gaze hardened. “They were bullying you first.” He mumbled darkly.

He heard his twin sigh before the bed shook a bit and he looked to see Matthew lying down, his arms over his eyes. “Al, they want you to fight them. They want you to get in trouble.” He said softly but each word sent daggers into Alfred as he squirmed where he sat. “Can’t you just ignore them?” He asked softly. “I don’t want you to get into any more trouble…” The seven year old whispered.

“…I know…” Alfred muttered before falling down and curling next to his twin. He watched as Matthew turned to his side so they were looking at each other face-to-face. His older twin was blank faced. Alfred didn’t try to avert his gaze, knowing that it could potentially upset the other. “I…I’ll try. For both of us.” He added, knowing that not only would it make his brother happy but this way, they could stay together.

Because if he continued this troubled kid act, people would choose only Matthew to adopt. And no matter how much he resisted, sooner than later, he’ll be taken away from Alfred, his only family.

Alfred couldn’t risk that.

He watched as Matthew smiled softly and the two cuddled closer. Every time they held hand, every time they hugged and never let go, they could feel stronger. Their bond was unbreakable and everybody in the home noticed that. They could tell that Alfred was overprotective of his older brother while the other was shy and only outspoken to his younger twin. They were two halves of a coin.

Of course, it meant that others would try to break them apart.

Alfred always considered the adults in the home as jerks. It was weird since this was a place working with child services…but most of the adults…well…they weren’t always the best. They hated the twins for reasons both didn’t understand and really, the twins hated them right back. Or rather, Alfred hated them. Matthew simply listened and tolerated them, begging Alfred to do the same. Alfred often told his twin that he didn’t believe them to be human.

Matthew would often agree.

“Say, Mattie?”

Matthew hummed in response. He was in a better mood than before and Alfred knew since the other didn’t mind the nickname he actually didn’t like. But Alfred uses it anyway. He found it adorable for his adorable brother. The other looked just a bit sleepy. And it was no wonder. They were sent to their rooms with no dinner after Alfred got into a fight with three other children, all three older by several years, teasing Matthew and pushing him against the wall. Alfred won, considering his ridiculous strength. Since they were sent up, it’s been an hour. It was nearing eight at night.

“…We’ll be together forever, right? We’ll be a family forever, right?”

He saw Matthew look at him curiously. But then the other smiled and tightened his hold on his younger brother and giggled. “Don’t say silly things, Al. Of course we’ll stay together forever. Nobody can break us apart.” He said softly.

Alfred smiled at this and nodded. “Nobody can break us up.” He repeated and then yawned. “Pinky promise?”

It was something he often did with his twin. He wasn’t sure when it started. Perhaps it was something he did with his deceased mother back when the two were much younger, before she died in a car accident several years ago and then left them alone. It connected the two and whenever the two made promises, it was always through their pinkies. If they made a promise to play the next day, they pinky promised. If they promised to be good for that day, they pinky promised. If they promised to run away, they pinky promised (they actually did it once…they were scolded and grounded for two months for that…). A pinky promise was special between them.

So Matthew laughed and nodded. He held up a pinky. “Pinky promise.” He agreed. Alfred grinned at that and wrapped his finger around his brother’s finger.

“Forever and ever, we’ll stay together.” Alfred said softly.

“Forever and ever, we’ll be a family.” Matthew added.

“Pinky promise,” They said in unison softly.

Then they both closed their eyes. Matthew drew the blankets up to their chins and underneath the sheets, they clasped their hands together. They both smiled in their sleep and they were lulled into unconsciousness by their soft breathing.

When they woke the next morning, the light was shining through the window above their bed. They could hear the early morning traffic outside and they both wrinkled their noses in dislike. They two never really liked the noise. Ah, the disadvantages to have good hearing…

Matthew sat up while Alfred yawned and stretched. The older twin slipped out of the sheets and crawled out of the bed, putting on his shoes. Alfred soon followed, the boy rubbing his eyes sleepily. The two left the room with extra clothes, the room filled with sleeping children, all of them snoring. They slipped down the hallways and into the showers where the two immediately woke up and scrubbed themselves down. Stepping out and slipping on their clothes, the two then went downstairs, hoping for breakfast.

They weren’t disappointed to see a woman, the only kind one that they adored, setting out plates and utensils.

“Morning,” The two chorused and they smiled brightly at the kind-hearted woman, Alice. The woman immediately put down her things and walked over to them, embracing the twins.

“Good morning, Alfred, Matthew. Just in time too, will you help me?” Alice asked as she pulled away with a gentle smile on her lips.

“Of course,” Matthew answered while Alfred only nodded eagerly.

They immediately set out to setting the rest of the dining table. There were two large tables in total, all for the forty four children in the home. After they finished, they went into the kitchen where Ms. Alice was preparing pancakes. Immediately, Matthew brightened and ran over to the refrigerator. “Oh, can you get the-“ The woman smiled when she saw the older twin carrying two bottles of maple syrup, handing both to Alfred who went to put them in the dining room before Matthew grabbed two more. “Goodness, you really do love maple syrup, don’t you?”

“Of course!’ Matthew exclaimed. “Especially the ones from Canada…” He paused and started to daydream of the day they actually had maple syrup from Canada. He missed the taste. It was far superior to the ones they buy in New York’s food market.

His brother walked back in and rolled his eyes when he saw his twin daydreaming happily. He walked over and took the maple syrup, leaving the kitchen and placing the maple syrup on the second table. Then he walked back into the kitchen and went up to Ms. Alice. “Ms. Alice, are you almost done?”

“Of course!” Alfred looked besides her the four large piles of pancakes and grinned. “Leave them to me, just go and sit down; and take your brother with you.” She said and Alfred nodded.

He went over to his brother and grabbed his hand, snapping the other out of his daze. Alfred began to pull the other out of the kitchen but paused when a woman walked into the kitchen, yawning. The woman froze at the sight of the two twins and glowered at them, both flinching.

They heard the woman grumble under her breath before brushing past them. Alfred swore the woman even sniffed and he saw a dark glint in the woman’s eyes. Alfred shivered before pulling Matthew into the dining table and away from the co-owner of the home.

“…Ms. Maria is scary…” Matthew muttered.

Alfred snorted. “Ms. Snake is more like it.” He grumbled as he pulled Matthew to the tables. They sat down on a far end corner and waited.

A few minutes later, Ms. Maria and Ms. Alice walked in, both carrying plates of pancakes. They could even hear the thuds of children walking down the stairs and knew the rest of the children were coming down. By the time the two woman finished preparing the food, most of the children were walking through the doors. Many of them were yawning. The teens and the volunteers all ushered the kids into the dining room.

Soon, the room as bustling with talking from the children. Ms. Maria and Ms. Alice were talking to each other in hushed tones and the teens were eating silently. Alfred always wondered why it was so…but he never bothered to bring it up, his attention immediately going to food.

There was a cluster of noise when the children finished and one by one, they went to the kitchen to put away their plates. Matthew and Alfred waited until they were all gone from the dining room and kitchen before moving to put away their dishes. But as soon as they put their plates down, they turned and found themselves in front of Ms. Maria.

They both tensed at the wide smile the woman had.

“Ah yes, Matthew,” The boy winced at how she drawled his name and nodded slowly.

“…Yes…Ms. Maria…?” He asked timidly.

The woman looked stern with the way her long hair was held in a bun. Her green eyes looked down at them critically, as if she couldn’t stand their presence. Her lips were pulled to a large smile and Alfred swore he saw razor sharp teeth behind those ruby red lips. However, if he asked anybody else, they would shake their head at him and pat his head, saying that it was just his paranoia talking.

“Mrs. William is here to see you. She is quite excited to spend her day with you again.” Ms. Maria said and Alfred’s eyes quickly glanced over to his brother.

The boy looked unsure. He fiddled with his fingers before nodding. Then he looked over at Alfred, an apologetic look in his own blue-violent eyes. Alfred only gave a weak grin as a response. After all, there was nothing they could do. They were terrified of Ms. Maria and disobeying her…well, let’s just say that Alfred refused to return to that horrid moment.

In any case, he patted his brother on the back and said weakly, “Go have fun! Who knows, maybe she’ll finally adopt you…” His voice trailed off and he looked away.

He knew that Matthew would have a distressed look on his face. They knew that out of the two twins, many people preferred Matthew. Not so much because of his timid nature but because Alfred…was what people would call a troubled kid.

Alfred would get into fights with older kids, whether it be at the child service home or school, it just happened. He would always arrive at the home with scrapes and bruises and that didn’t appeal to couples who wished to adopt a child. Not only that, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Compared to normal kids, he was incredibly hyper at times and extremely inattentive. He could barely sit still for long and he always had to have some part of his body move. Sure school was boring but he was already quite intelligent for his age so it was a bit fine. However, he was impulsive and that was why he often got into fights.

Of course, Matthew was the same, but compared to Alfred, the older twin’s ADHD wasn’t as bad. And compared to Alfred, he was more studious, and his grades showed in school. He wasn’t the best, but he was certainly not the worst. As a result, people came to like Matthew who was a kind, sweet, and smart kid. Most wanted to adopt Matthew but the boy absolutely refused to be separated from Alfred.

They often got into trouble for that by Ms. Maria who no doubt wanted to get rid of them already.

It was why Matthew was stressed now. Compared to most couples or people who gave up after taking one look at Alfred, Mrs. William, a strict yet kind woman who took an instant liking to the older twin. However, she didn’t want to adopt two children. She was a single woman who was look for a good child who listened and did well in school. And while Matthew fit that description, it most certainly didn’t for Alfred who despite his intelligence, didn’t do so well in school due to his dyslexia which appeared to be worse than his brother’s.

But he saw how much Matthew came to take a liking to Mrs. William. And while he no doubt never wanted to separate from Matthew, he wondered if perhaps it would be better to allow his twin to find a good family who would take care of him. At least it meant that Matthew would be better off, even if Alfred wasn’t there with him.

And as he watched Matthew walk out of the dining room and into the hallway where a strict looking woman with shoulder-length brown hair stood, he tensed. He watched as the woman’s lips curled to a kind smile and she squatted in front of his brother who smiled back, a bit hesitantly. The woman spoke with Matthew for a bit and the boy shook his head. They seemed to have some sort of agreement after a minute and the woman’s smile brightened and then Matthew went upstairs, perhaps to get ready for his day with Mrs. William.

Alfred stepped into the hallway and he saw Mrs. William turn, but when she saw him, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed slightly. Then she nodded stiffly at Alfred. The boy nodded back before muttering, “Have fun with Matthew…”

There was a second of silence and the woman’s eyes softened a bit. “I’ll bring him back around two.” She said.

It was sort of a compromise between the two. They both cared for Matthew. Mrs. William knew how much the boy mattered to Alfred. After all, the two were twins. And so the two made a silent agreement. In the end, it would be Matthew’s choice whether he would stay or go with Mrs. William.

Alfred knew he was at an advantage. Matthew would never leave him behind. But he saw how much Matthew enjoyed Mrs. William’s presence and the other never told Alfred about how much he liked her. He knew that Matthew was waiting, hoping that Mrs. William would finally relent and take both of them in instead of just one. Alfred wished for that too. Then the two could finally leave this horrible place with Ms. Snakehead Maria.

But…Alfred and Matthew both knew Mrs. William’s situation. She was a widow, her husband dying two years after their marriage. Her child died in her womb and she was left alone. She had enough to be able to take care of herself and one child. Taking another would be pushing it.

Alfred nodded at the woman and went over to the stairs, walking up the steps. Once he reached the top, he saw Matthew leaving the room with a small backpack. The boy gave Alfred a small apologetic smile and Alfred only grinned. “Have fun, bro!” He simply said. “Don’t be bad,” He said, giving him a mock glare and putting his hands on his hips like an overprotective mother scolding her child.

Matthew rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yes, mum,” He drawled and walked past Alfred, patting the others shoulders and disappeared down the steps.

For a minute, Alfred just stood there, silent. Then he sighed and walked into the room he slept in with the other children. Some of them were staring out the window, no doubt watching Matthew walk away with Mrs. William.

“So lucky,” One moaned. “He is going to be adopted.”

“I’ll bet she get him by the end of the week!”

“Nah, the older clone’s persistent! It’ll probably take a few more weeks.”

“And his brother will be left behind.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t like Alfred much, does she?”

“None of the people who liked Matthew likes Alfred.”

Alfred coughed, catching the attention of the others. They turned and he saw their cheeks go slightly red. He raised a brow at them and rolled his eyes. He then walked over to his and Matthew’s bed where he saw a book laid there. He instantly knew that Matthew left it there and he smiled lightly.

It was their favorite book. It talked about heroes and myths that they only dreamed were real. Alfred particularly loved hearing about the Greek heroes while Matthew was interested in the many magical creatures in the Greek mythology. They found it in the bookstore and with the money they saved up from their small allowances they get each month, they managed to buy it.

Matthew was the only one who managed to read it, despite his dyslexia. Alfred could never sit still long enough to try and decipher the words.

The boy climbed onto his bed which suddenly seemed so larger without his brother to sit beside him. With a sigh, he opened the book and tried to read, knowing that he’d be able to impress Matthew if he managed to read at least one chapter before Mattie came back.

  **~.~.~**

Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to read the book. An hour after Matthew had left and he was going through the book, only managing two pages after struggling, Ms. Maria came inside and barked at the children to do their chores. She was incredibly harsh on Alfred since she never liked him. Alfred didn’t care. The feeling was mutual.

It was only then he noticed that one of the boy’s in the home was missing. Of course, it was only because the two were assigned together to clean the attic with another, a teenage with brown hair and brown eyes. Blinking, he looked around for the dark haired nine year old, Daniel. The boy was a good kid, nice and sweet. He was kind to Alfred too. Something that was quite rare as he didn’t quite get along with the kids here.

“Hey,” The other in the attic grumbled and Alfred knew he had the teen’s attention. “Where’s Daniel?”

There was a pause and the teen looked up to stare at Alfred incredulously. “Are you serious? Somebody came yesterday night after dinner to adopt him. Remember the Mr. and Mrs. Lam?”

Alfred blinked in surprise. “Seriously?” He asked. “Good for him.” He added before frowning.

…Daniel…had left. Wow, that certainly left him feeling hollow. The nine-year old didn’t even bother to say goodbye. Sure he and Matthew were sent up to their rooms before dinner but still, Daniel could’ve at least had the courtesy to say good bye to the twins he had known for three years.

Alfred looked down and returned to dusting the books up in the attic, his entire being filled with sudden loneliness.

  **~.~.~**

Matthew returned, as Mrs. William promised, at exactly two that afternoon. The boy looked…confused. When he walked into the room, Alfred was once again trying to read their book after three hours of cleaning the attic. He had cleaned himself after that before returning to the book. He only got through a paragraph when Matthew ran inside with a disgruntled look. But it turned into a smile and giggle when he saw Alfred struggling with reading.

Alfred looked up when he heard the giggled and grinned at the sight of his brother. “Mattie! Come help me read.” He immediately said and his brother laughed before coming over. “I got through a few pages; pretty good for me, eh?” He laughed before pausing when he saw the uncertain look on Matthew’s face. “…What’s wrong, Mattie?”

His brother was silent before he saw down and fell back on the bed. The boy was saddened. “…I’m getting adopted…”

There was silence between the two before Alfred gulped and gave a weak chuckle. “O-Oh…cool…did you manage to convince Mrs. William? How did you do it?” He asked before pausing at the look his brother gave him. Finally, he whispered, “Just you…”

“…She said that she already filled the necessary forms with Ms. Maria…” Matthew whispered softly. “She kept it from me for the last week because she knew that I wouldn’t have agreed…but the thing is, she promised!” Matthew looked furious. “She promised to wait! So why would she just…gah!” He covered his eyes with his arms and continued softly, “She said that Ms. Maria suggested to her to fill out the necessary forms and do the procedures immediately…I don’t know. Maybe she forced Mrs. William to do it so that I can’t argue.”

Alfred was silent as he listened. Then he closed the book and moved it beside him before settling himself next to Matthew. “…Don’t worry…” He said softly. “We’ll still be family…”

“I know…but we won’t be together.” Matthew whispered before sniffling. He reached for his brother’s hand and once he did, he squeezed. “I don’t want to leave.”

“…We can still send letters to each other. Even far away, we’ll still be family…”

Matthew was immediately silent before he looked away. He looked terrified, saddened and angry. Finally, he softly muttered, "She’s moving us to Canada.” There as silence and he looked to see his brother with a look of disbelief. He squeezed the hand he held tighter. “I want you to come with us…” He muttered softly. “It’s not fair…”

“Life is never fair,” Alfred muttered dejectedly, quoting somebody he heard say from school. Matthew nodded and the two fell silent.

It was strange. Usually, the two would be talking about their day. Alfred would joke around, telling Matthew about the pranks he pulled on Ms. Maria when she wasn’t looking, about the children who played games throughout the day, about the few things that happened when people thought he wasn’t looking. And Matthew would do the same, whether it be when he was with Mrs. William or anything else if he wasn’t with Alfred. Then the two would go and talk about the things they would do when they leave the home with a family that wanted both of them. Alfred would excitedly talk about how he could get a telescope later in his life and he would finally be allowed to study the beautiful skies above them. Matthew would get talk about how he could finally be able to study without the worry of how much money was needed for school. Their parents would take care of them and the two knew they would try their best to be good children.

Of course, they knew that something else could happen. That perhaps one or the other would be adopted to a different family. They had hoped it would never happen.

Unfortunately, it was.

The two didn’t do anything else for the rest of the day. They simply stayed in bed, clutching onto each others hand, as if they loosened their grip or even let go, the other would disappear forever.

The next day, Mrs. William had returned. She had a hopeful look in her face as Matthew dejectedly trudged down the stairs with Alfred following him. The two looked equally distressed and they were holding onto each others hand, not wanting to let go. At the door, Mrs. William stood next to the co-owners of the home, Ms. Maria and Ms. Alice. Ms. Alice looked sad and she looked at the two twins with an apologetic look. Ms. Maria looked triumphant, as if something was finally going her way.

“Oh, Matthew, dear. You’ll love our home in Canada. I’ve looked through the houses available last week and I found a perfect place I know you’ll love.” Mrs. William cooed and the twins walked up to her. She paused though when Alfred looked at her with a heated glare.

Her lips thinned and she looked away from Alfred and smiled at Matthew. “Let’s go to the car. Our plane ride is in five hours and we don’t want to be late.”

Matthew made no movement. He simply stood there, looking conflicted. Alfred, noticing this, pulled on their connected hand and moved to give his brother a tight hug. He could feel Matthew tensing and he knew the boy was crying. “Write to me, okay? Don’t forget me. At all…”

He could hear his older brother agreeing. When he pulled away, the boy was still crying and he rubbed away the tears. “I-I’ll w-wr-ite; right w-hen I-I get th-ere!” The boy said through tears and Alfred gave his twin a weak grin.

They walked out the doors and Alfred watched as Matthew was ushered by Mrs. William to a taxi. She helped the boy climb into the car and then turned, walking back up to the building.

Ms. Maria stretched a hand out. “Thank you so much for taking in the sweetheart.” She said sweetly. “I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful mother to the boy.”

Mrs. William nodded and shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much for many of your help. I’ll take care of Matthew.” Alfred turned to glare at Mrs. William. The woman ignored this and went to shake hands with Ms. Alice as well, the kinder woman smiling softly.

Then as she turned to leave, Alfred called out, “We had a deal.”

The woman paused before turning to look at Alfred. “We have no such thing, child.” Alfred scowled at Mrs. William. The woman looked back at him coldly. “Matthew will be taken care of. I don’t plan to lose him any time soon.”

“Matthew doesn’t want this. You’re forcing him.” Alfred added and he could hear the small gasp from Ms. Alice. He knew that Ms. Maria was probably glaring daggers at him but he didn’t care. He wanted to get his point across, to tell this woman that what she was doing was wrong.

Mrs. William paused and her eyes looked confused. Her expression turned to one of uncertainty. “I…I don’t…I mean…”

Then Ms. Maria stepped forward and clasped the woman’s hands. “Oh don’t mind this boy. He’s a trouble child, he always causes trouble.” Alfred frowned, not liking what the woman was saying when his eyes widened and he gaped slightly. He saw Ms. Maria’s green eyes seemed to glow and her pupils turned to silts for a split second. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Her eyes were back to normal.

“…Right, of course.” Mrs. William seemed to have controlled herself and smiled. She looked at Alfred and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help Matthew contact you once we get settled in Canada. Maybe someday, you can come visit as well.” Then she nodded at the co-owners and left, heading to the cab and went inside.

Alfred watched as the cab drove off. He could see Matthew look out the window dejectedly from the back before they were gone. A second after, Alfred swung around and glared at Ms. Maria. “What did you do!?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Ms. Maria asked.

“You did something! You brainwashed her, didn’t you!?”

The woman smiled tightly before turning to Ms. Alice. “Go and check up on the children, dear. It’s time to have breakfast.” Ms. Alice, who was looking between the two of them worryingly tensed before a small dazed smile came to her face. She nodded and turned, leaving Alfred and Ms. Maria alone. The boy looked surprised at what just happened. “Now, dear,” Alfred tensed and looked up at Ms. Maria’s face and took a step back from what he saw.

The woman’s lips was curled to a smile, her teeth showing. To his horror, he saw razor-sharp teeth as the woman started to speak, “It’s time you hush now, don’t you agree, boy?” She then turned around and went back into the house. Alfred only watched, eyes wide with slight horror and confusion.

He would later say that pretty much most of the next year was absolutely horrid. He hated not having Matthew by his side…it was like…like having half of you missing and you just simply cannot function well without that half. With Matthew around, he had nobody to defend him, take care of him…love him. It was distressing going to bed every night and have the bed feel…so…so empty. It was horrible and he had trouble sleeping.

Alfred wondered if Matthew went through the same.

The only upside was when a month later, a letter arrived. Addressed to _Alfred F. Jones_ , Alfred immediately snatched the envelope and rushed into his shared room and eagerly opened it. He smiled at the picture of a smiling Matthew with Mrs. Williams. Matthew looked a bit haggard but that was most likely because he was adjusting to the cold temperatures in Canada and…Alfred hoped that it was also because the other was missing just as much as he missed him.

The letters didn’t say much. Matthew wrote about Canada. He wrote how cold it was. The part that completely filled the letter was how much Matthew was overly happy about his new adoptive mother allowing him to buy four bottles of maple syrup made there. He even sent a picture, making Alfred laugh a bit. The last part of the letter made his heart ache slightly and a small smile appear on his lips.

_I really wish you were here, Alfred. I really miss you. Mrs. Williams promised that we’d go visit in about a year after everything has settled down. Please don’t change so much without me. I’ll try and convince her to adopt you as well by then!_

_I love you._

_Matthew_

It was just so sweet and heartfelt and so Matthew…it made his heart ache. It also reminded him how he was able to tolerate people because Matthew was always there next to him, encouraging him. But now that he was gone…well, it was hard to not be cranky.

And not only that, he was also dreadfully terrified of Ms. Maria.

He was completely convinced by now that the woman was some horrible monster set out to eat all the children here in the home. He didn’t understand why she let Matthew go but was glad she did. At least this way, he was out of her horrible clutches and he’d be safe forever!

Another thing to note, two children had been adopted. Alfred was surprised how he only finds out about this the next morning because he had never seen a man or woman or couple come in and take a child home. It baffled him but he didn’t say much. Maybe he just had horrible timing after all. And everybody else had seen it happen. So yeah, horrible timing on his part really.

Unfortunately, the letter he had gotten from Matthew was the only one he had gotten in the next several months. During those said months, the boy became increasingly cranky and snappy. He could barely pay attention in school already so now without his other half, he was worse. It got up to the point that the teachers finally sent him to the principle to have a “stern talk”.

And of course, he had shown the principle that same day how much vocabulary (cough-swear words-cough) he had…

Poor old man looked ready to faint.

The end result was that when he got home, he was sweating from the dark look Ms. Maria was giving him but he tried his best to glare right back, trying not to show how terrified of the woman he was. It seemed as though it was pointless considering how the woman could always tell when one was scared. She was creepy weird like that.

In the end, his punishment lasted for the next two months. And it had been two month since Matthew’s letter. He had to clean the attic himself and during the weekend, while the other child got to play, he was forced to stay inside and do chores that were originally assigned to the other children.

Then one day, on the fifth month and still no letter from Matthew (though he sent like four of them already…), a man came.

Alfred was cleaning the windows on the first floor, grumbling to himself as he thrusting the dirty rags into the soapy bucket. There was no words to describe how annoyed he felt but he knew better than to talk back to Ms. Maria who was already cross with him to begin with. At least Ms. Alice was nice enough to give him a break with milk and chocolate chip cookies.

Then the doorbell rang.

Alfred blinked, hearing the doorbell ring a children lullaby and he started to hum along as Ms. Alice left the kitchen, where the two were happily eating the cookies, and left the room to answer the door. Thanks to his great hearing, he could hear the door open and Ms. Alice’s voice along with another he didn’t recognize at all. He couldn’t tell what they were talking about but it didn’t really matter.

It was probably just a seller trying to sell some stupid junk.

Then he heard the voices coming closer and he looked towards the entrance to the kitchen with wide curious eyes.

“…of course, all the children are kind and well behaved,”

He snorted that Ms. Alice’s comment but didn’t say anything else, especially when the two passed by the kitchen. He blinked at the man next to Ms. Alice when they paused in front of the kitchen. Ms. Alice gestured to the kitchen, informing the man of the nourishment the children receive, insuring that they’re all well and healthy.

The man was of average height and was wearing a business suit. He looked lean but not too skinny, something he knew some of the kids were since not everybody liked to eat like him. Of course, he himself was also ridiculously skinny. Ms. Alice called it meta-something… or metabo…or something close to that. He wasn’t quite sure. The man had messy sandy blonde hair and kind green eyes. He also looked…saddened.

Alfred paused. He knew the look in the man’s eyes. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror and he hated it. It was loneliness.

“Ah, this is Alfred. He’s one of our younger residents here.” Ms. Alice said kindly, gesturing to the boy.

The man looked down and smiled softly at him. “Hello, Alfred.” Alfred blinked. The man sounded weird. “My name is Arthur Noble.”

Alfred paused but then nodded shyly. “…Hello, Mr. Noble…” Then a second later, he decided to add, “You sound weird.”

The two adults went silent before Ms. Alice frowned, obviously thinking how rude that comment was while Mr. Noble was chuckling, finding what the boy said more humorous than rude. “I would hope so. I’m not from here after all.” At Alfred’s curious looked, the man continued, “I was born and raised in Great Britain. I moved here a few years ago and…” He paused, his eyes glazing over and his posture stiffened. He seemed to remembering something painful. But then he shook his head and smiled again. “However, I’m moving back to Britain in a month or two and I had hoped to find someone to come with me. Someone to be my child.”

Alfred was silent before he whispered, “Like Mrs. William…” He looked away and nodded. “I hope you find somebody nice.” He spoke louder than necessary before nibbling on a cookie, remembering his brother and how he was taken away by a woman who was rather similar to this Mr. Noble.

He didn’t particularly like this man…

Ms. Alice led the man away from the kitchen, he could feel a gaze and turned to see the man looking at him for a few seconds with interest before following Ms. Alice.

It would be a few days later when he would meet the man again, requesting to see him.

It was surprising because Alfred rarely had any visitors. Heck, even though he was just seven (though nearing eight in about two weeks) people liked to stay clear of him because of his label. Or at least, normal people did. And that included adults. So when he was told by a smiling Ms. Alice that the man, Arthur Noble had returned and had wanted to see him, he promptly blinked and his mouth opened to a small gape.

Apparently, it was hard to process the idea in his head.

When he finally gathered his wits, he slowly nodded and put his favorite book down, pushing it under his pillow and then arranging it so that it was hidden. Then he jumped off the bed and followed Ms. Alice out of the room and down the stairs.

They walked into the sitting room and they found Mr. Noble on his phone, a small frown on his lips as he listened to whoever was on the phone. But then he noticed them and said in a hushed voice, “I have to go; I’ll talk to you tonight.” Then he immediately hung up and gave a smile to the other two. “Hello, Alfred!” He stood up and walked up to them. Thanking Ms. Alice, he then squatted down and gave a kind smile to Alfred. “How are you?”

Alfred blinked, confused before slowly nodding, “…I’m good…you?”

Mr. Noble chuckled. “I’m good as well.”

“Alfred,” The boy turned and looked up at Ms. Alice and bent down a bit. “Mr. Nobel has asked if he could spend the day with you.” Alfred’s eyes widened and the kind woman continued, “He seems to have taken a liking to you, Alfred.”

He turned to the man, asking for confirmation and the man nodded. Alfred could feel his cheeks heat up and he looked down. It didn’t really make sense. Why would this man want to…spend time with him? Then Alfred asked in a timid voice so unlike his own, “Why?” He heard a sound of confusion from the man and he asked in a louder voice, “Why me? Aren’t there better kids here? I’m…”

He didn’t say anything else when suddenly, there was a hand on his head, ruffling his hair and making it a bigger mess than it already was. “Hey!” Alfred protested and smacked the man’s hand away. He glared at the man who was laughing now. “Jerk.” He grumbled.

“Alfred, you’re an interesting boy. That’s why I like you.”

Immediately, Alfred blinked and his mouth opened to a slight gape as he did earlier before. Then he closed his mouth and he felt his cheeks heat up again. Mr. Noble smiled and asked, “Would you like to spend the day with me?”

Alfred wasn’t sure what to say. But he could feel his heart swell with embarrassment and…was that happiness? It…was similar to when he was with Matthew…but also very different. It was a nice feeling.

So he decided to change what he thought about the man.

…He liked Mr. Noble.

“O-Okay…”

  **~.~.~**

Two weeks had gone by since he met Mr. Noble and Alfred was staring out of the window from his shared room. Another kid had been adopted during those two weeks (much to his surprise) and it was another kid from their room. So far, three boys from their room had left (Matthew, Daniel, and another kid) and a girl from the room down the hallways had left as well.

Alfred sighed.

It was weird that the room felt so much bigger than usual even though it usually felt so crowded. He looked up at the stars and a small smile left his lips.

He may be ADHD but it there was one thing he didn’t mind staring at for long periods of time without moving or getting distracted, it was the beautiful night sky. He also loved the ocean but unfortunately, pollution ruins it so the water looked murky and disgusting…so he had to settle for the night sky.

He was lucky that the area the home was…well, it was a good area to look at the sky. The city was a little farther down north and due to that, the city lights weren’t harsh. Sure he didn’t see as much stars as he would’ve liked but it was good enough that he was satisfied.

Clutching his pillow, he wondered if perhaps Matthew was looking at the same sky.

Soon, he heard the soft beeping from the room’s clock. It was midnight. Exactly July third.

A small grin came to his face and the now eight year old whispered, “Happy birthday…Matthew.” It was something the two compromised. Their birthdays weren’t exactly the same. Matthew was born on July third at night and Alfred was born the next day on July fourth around three in the morning. So every year, they would pick one of their birthdays and celebrate it together. Last year it was his. This year was supposed to be Matthew’s…

He then crawled into the sheets and curled up, missing the warmth of his brother once again.

Then morning came and to his surprise, Mr. Noble had returned. The man had a small smile when he saw Alfred come down the stairs and he motioned the other to come closer as he knelt down. Mr. Noble greeted, “Good morning, Alfred.”

Alfred gave a small grin back. He couldn’t help it. Over the two weeks, he had come to like the man. He could be witty and snarky, much like himself. He could be sarcastic but Alfred had trouble detecting the man’s sarcasm. However, Mr. Noble was also extremely kind. He seemed to be incredibly fond of Alfred and it made the boy marvel how the man could handle him, something only Matthew truly could do.

“Mornin’, Mr. Noble!” He chirped as he skipped over to him, giggling when the man ruffled his hair.

“Speak proper English, Alfred.” The man said, slightly exasperated and that made Alfred giggle even more. He stuck his tongue out childishly and the man chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair even more and making his squeal before giving a childish glare at the man.

“So, what’cha wanna do today, Mr. Noble?” Alfred asked curiously.

Mr. Noble gave him a small annoyed glare, which Alfred pointedly ignored, before saying, “First, I thought we could go to the library and help you with your reading.” Ah, yes, after Mr. Noble found out about Alfred’s dyslexia, he seemed to have made it his personal mission to help the boy get to a higher reading level.

Alfred groaned a bit and the man chuckled, flicking the boy’s forehead. “Come on, Alfred. You need to improve. You don’t expect to be able to go through life without being able to read, do you?”

“It can’t hurt to wish.” Alfred piped before he giggled when Mr. Noble sighed. “What else do you wanna do today?”

There was silence from Mr. Noble before he shook his head and smiled. “We’ll decide that along the way.”

So with that note, the two left the house after Alfred went back upstairs to grab his bag, got an apple from Ms. Alice and then a smile from Ms. Maria (though Alfred noticed the angered look in the woman’s eyes). They walked to the nearest library, talking about random things. After much persistence from Alfred, Mr. Noble spoke of his family from Britain. He was surprised how much loneliness was held in the man’s voice and he wondered if perhaps the man was not loved.

…Nah, that couldn’t be. This guy was awesome.

After they entered the library, the two made way to a table. But before Mr. Noble went to grab some books, Alfred stopped him, holding onto his bag tightly. “Mr. Noble?” The man paused and looked at Alfred curiously. The boy grinned. “I have this…” He took out his and Matthew’s Greek book. He saw Mr. Noble eyes widen. “Can you help me read this? I’ve been practicing!”

Mr. Noble looked surprised but smiled nonetheless and sat down next to Alfred. “I’m surprised you’re reading this. This is far more difficult than a children book after all.” He said.

Alfred grinned. “It’s mines and Mattie’s. I want to get way better than him so that I can show off!” He said with a giggle.

“Oh, who is…Mattie?” The man asked.

There was a pause and Alfred looked down. Then after a moment of silence, he muttered, “My brother. He was adopted earlier this year.” There was another moment of silence before the man ruffled the boy’s hair, making his squeak. “Hey-“

“I’m sure he misses you just as much as you miss him.” The man said softly.

Alfred gaped at the man and his cheeks flushed. Then he smiled brightly and nodded. “Yeah.” And with that, the two settled down, Mr. Noble watching Alfred read out loud while he helped the boy whenever he had trouble with words.

  **~.~.~**

_…What?_

Alfred paused at the door, his eyes wide and his hand right on top of the handle. He was about to open the door when one of the boys called for him, telling him that Mr. Noble had come again. He was excited to hang out with the man. He was thankful for what Mr. Noble had done for him so far and really, he felt…grateful. But when he reached the door to the sitting room, he heard Ms. Maria voice out,

“You wish to adopt Alfred!?”

Her voice sounded disbelieving.

Alfred himself was shocked by what he heard. But he was further shocked when Mr. Noble’s calm voice sounded out, “Yes, I do.”

Then Ms. Alice’s soft voice was heard. “Maria, it’s no wonder. Haven’t you seen how well these two get along? Alfred had also been much happier after meeting Mr. Noble, especially after Matthew had left.”

“Yes, well, that doesn’t mean that this person could take care of Alfred. Not only that, you said you’ll be going back to England, correct? How on earth will we be able to know that you’ll take care of him!?”

“Maria, you’re saying this now? What about Matthew? You let him go with Mrs. William despite the fact that she was moving to Canada!”

“Mrs. William had my respect as a woman and I know that she is very capable to take care of a child.”

“And yet I am not?”

“I hardly believe you are suitable to take care of a child.”

“I have a well-paying profession. I am a professor at a university in London and my pay is good. I have enough to be able to have two children. I’ll be able to support Alfred, no matter the cost, throughout his schools years and college. I believe I am acceptable.” Came Mr. Noble’s voice.

There was silence before Ms. Maria hissed, “Then let’s see what Alfred thinks about it. I’m sure you know that Alfred has a twin brother. And from what I’ve gathered, he’d rather be with him.”

“Maria! You know that Mrs. William can only support one child!”

“You never know. Perhaps she’ll be able to handle Alfred.”

“You shouldn’t say that!”

“Ms. Maria, is there a reason you do not want me to adopt Alfred?”

There was silence once more. Alfred gulped and held his breath, wondering about Mr. Noble’s question. Finally, Ms. Maria spat out, “Very well. I shall start the necessary papers and we shall see if you are qualified to take care of Alfred. But let me warn you, Alfred is not an easy child. He is a troublemaker.”

“I had taken the time these past few weeks to spend time with him. I believe he is a sweet boy. Yes, he’s a bit reckless but I find that all children are like that at some time in their life.” There was a small chuckle. “I find Alfred kind and silly at times and I enjoy his company…he reminds me of someone as well.”

“…Fine.” There was some shuffling and then footsteps.

Alfred’s eyes widened and he scrambled away from the door to the stairs, pretending to have just gotten to that floor. He looked at Ms. Maria just as she opened the door. She gave a dark smile to the boy and he shivered. She gestured him to come and Alfred timidly walked forward. He trembled as he walked past her before looking at Mr. Noble.

He had a kind smile on his lips and Alfred couldn’t help it. He smiled back.

But he was bubbling with confusion and questions.

That day, he was asked if he would like to be adopted by Arthur Noble. And while Alfred really wanted to say yes, a part of him paused. He looked at all three of the adults, none of the helpers were here. Ms. Alice looked encouraging, smiling as if she were telling Alfred that it was alright to have whatever choice he wanted. Ms. Maria looked threatening, her eyes narrowed and he swore her pupils turned to slits, her eyes glowing just a tad bit. And when he turned he gaze to Mr. Noble, that was when he suddenly spoke, not realizing what he was about to say.

“Yes…I want to…”

Later that night, he would feel bad. He made that decision to go with Mr. Noble and live with him…Mr. Noble would become his foster father and while that made him happy and feeling giddy…he felt bad because he made that decision without consulting with Matthew. There was also the fact that he would be going to England…a different country! Far from Mattie and…and…

Alfred hugged his and Mattie’s Greek book and he closed his eyes, apologizing to his brother.

But a part of him felt justified. After all, Matthew left him and even though he had received a letter, he never got another one. It made him feel lonely and sad and it made him wonder if perhaps his older twin had forgotten all about him. It hurt and he hated to think of it like that…he doubted that it was true but…

Alfred sighed and hugged his book tighter. “…Sorry, Mattie…”

After two days, he was packing his bag, taking a few precious things. His favorite jacket, his blue hat, his book on astrology, his picture of him and Mattie with their deceased mother; he paused though when he picked up the Greek mythology book. He stared at it, his lips pulled to a thin line before he sighed and put the book down. He zipped up his bag, hung it over his shoulder, picked up the Greek book and left the room where the rest of the boys looked at him enviously.

Walking down the stairs, he saw Ms. Alice waiting for him with a sweet smile. Once he reached the bottom, she reached forward and pulled him into a hug. “I’m going to miss you, Al.” She whispered and Alfred blinked away a few tears and nodded.

“I’m gonna miss ya too…” He mumbled softly before pulling and looked at her seriously. “Ms. Alice, please give this to Mattie if he ever comes.” Ms. Alice blinked as he gave her the Greek book and her eyes softened. She started to speak but Alfred cut her off, continuing, “And watch Ms. Maria. I don’t think she’s a good person…”

“Oh, Alfred, I know how you feel about her but she’s just looking out for you and the children.”

Alfred shook his head, rather determined to get this through the older woman’s head. “She’s controlling you. You have to watch out.” He said, staring her in the eye. The woman paused and she looked surprised, confused, and slightly worried. “You have to watch out,” Alfred pushed, wanting to make sure that he got the message across and he was satisfied when the woman hesitantly nodded.

“Alfred?” The two looked behind Ms. Alice to see Ms. Maria and Mr. Noble.

The man had a kind smile and he looked happy and pleased while beside him, Ms. Maria looked annoyed and put off. But as the two came forward, she pulled her lips into a sickeningly sweet smile before saying, “Now, be a good boy, Alfred. Don’t be too much trouble on Mr. Noble, alright?”

Alfred nodded and he narrowed his eyes at the woman. Then suddenly Mr. Noble was in front of him, kneeling and pulling the boy into a hug, surprising him. “Thank you for coming with me,” The man said softly and the boy flushed a bit.

“N-No…probs…”

A small chuckle left the man’s lips and he pulled away and stood up, turning to Ms. Maria. “Ms. Maria,” He bowed slightly and smiled. The woman gave a fake smile back and as Mr. Noble turned away, she sneered at him.

Noticing this, Alfred glared at her when his hand was taken into Mr. Noble’s He looked up and saw the man’s eager smile and he couldn’t help smiling back too. The two walked out of the house, and to a car. Alfred looked around, staring at the fence, the grass, everything that he had known since he was smaller and wondered if he would ever miss this place.

…Perhaps not. He’d miss Ms. Alice.

When they stopped at the car, he paused and looked back. Ms. Maria had already went back in. Ms. Alice was standing at the top of the steps, looked at Alfred with a small sad smile. She was clutching onto his and Matthew’s precious book and he knew that the woman would give it to Matthew, whether it’d be through Matthew coming to get it or her sending it to him.

He waved at her and the woman waved back.

Alfred then turned back to Mr. Noble who opened the car door for him. He crawled into the passenger’s seat, closed the door, and went to the other side of the car and sat in the driver’s seat. “You said you’re going back to England, right?”

“Yes, I hope that’s alright with you, Alfred.”

“Sure, sounds cool. I could use an adventure!” Alfred said with a grin and his new foster father smiled. “Say, Mr. Noble,”

“You can call me Arthur if you want to Alfred.”

Alfred paused at this after he put on his seatbelt. He looked down before nodding, feeling a little embarrassed. “Okay…Arthur…” He liked that name. It felt…nice… “Do you think I’ll like England? I don’t have to learn a new language right?”

The man chuckled. “Of course not, you Americans learned English from us British after all.”

“Oh, cool!” Alfred smiled.

He would like this interesting new life with his foster father. He hoped to learn many things from this man, from different things like how the man woke up in the morning, to his tastes in food from England to what the man taught in the university he worked at.

It would be unfortunate though that just over a year later, a few months after his ninth birthday, the two of them would be attacked by three monsters that looked like huge dogs. It would be unfortunate that the last thing his foster father would ever say to him was, “Run, Alfred!” before he was torn apart right before his eyes and eaten by these hounds and the only thing he could do was run away, crying as the monsters chased after him next.

The only good thing that would come out from that was that he would find a new big brother with pretty green eyes and large eyebrows who would love him and take care of him.

_“I’m Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. What’s your name?”_

_“I’m…Arthur Krikland.”_

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I would like to say that I actually have no idea how adoption works, nor do I know how child services work either...O-o So I may get a lot of people saying, "That's not how that works!" That's why I would like to say sorry that i didn't get perhaps anything accurate. I just wrote this from the top of my head and tried to make things seem as believable as possible...maybe it didn't work. I don't know...T^T
> 
> At the very least, i hope that those of you who read this enjoyed this :3


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